When you realize you need more than just a dream

This summer, I completed my first internship at The Times-Tribune, which was quite an intense experience. You hear so much about interns being the people who have to do the “bitch work” – for lack of a better word – so I was not expecting to be given much responsibility. But I was taken by surprise when I was thrown right into the swing of things.

My first assignment was a disaster. I was to cover a press conference at the Scranton Cultural Center and write it for next day publication. Actor Harry Connick Jr. would be calling in to answer questions and to promote his play that would be performed at the Cultural Center around Christmas. I was incredibly nervous when I was given a question to ask the actor. To make a long story short, the question was completely denied. It only got worse when I went back to the office to write. I struggled so much. I had no idea what they wanted and almost every word that I wrote was changed. It was one of the most devastating moments in my life. I don’t remember ever wanting to be anything but a journalist and when my first real chance failed, I thought that was the end of my career before it began. I had a complete meltdown, thinking that I wasn’t good at my dream job. My writing was something I was always very confident about but after that first article, I felt like I was terrible.

But my supervisor didn’t let me give up. I was given several more assignments and I improved with each one. I interviewed a local band, a “Northeast woman”, a restaurant owner, a “kid wonder”, along with others, and I was in charge of a weekly Q&A column. Now, I am only more confident in my writing and my ability to be a journalist.

Seeing my name in print was an amazing feeling and I hope it never goes away. I’m proud that I didn’t let myself become completely defeated after that first mishap. I’m following my dream and I’m incredibly proud of myself.

I’m excited to see where the future will take me, especially now that I have published clips from a major newspaper to show other companies.

This summer was an incredibly busy one and I can’t believe it’s basically over. But it was an experience to say the least.